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Sasuke Uchiha has a problem for the first time in his eighteen years of existence — his life was suddenly disturbed by his childhood friend, Sakura Haruno.
He did not know when it started, but his heart felt like jumping every time he would see her. At first, he thought it was because he ate something sweet and it was just a sugar rush, but when he tried to eat his favorite tomato salad with her, his heart still felt like it would burst.
And that’s only the beginning.
A few days after, her face kept popping on his mind, especially when she was not by his side; he would wonder what was she doing and he would imagine what was she thinking.
And when he would close his eyes, her smile and laughter were all he could see; she filled his thoughts so bad.
He kept looking for her, yearning for her face to show up in front of him, day and night. Yes, even at night. Much to his shock, she was the protagonist in his dreams and he would call out her name in his sleep.
Adding more, he could not speak freely to her anymore; he would stutter like a broken television when he would have a conversation with her. He could not understand but he could only utter phrases in front of her and never a straight sentence.
Sometimes, he would be even rendered speechless when she would flash her smile and call him ‘Sasuke-kun’ in her sweet alto voice that would all day kept ringing in his head.
When did he become a shy person in front of Sakura?
Then, he realized that his fascination to her was not normal. He was sick, he caught a treacherous sickness that involves his closest buddy; he was not like this when they met each other more than ten years ago at the park.
So, he consulted his brother, Itachi, hoping that he would know what was wrong with him.
‘You have been bitten by the love bug, Sasuke,’ Itachi diagnosed which was definitely not understood by the said boy.
Love bug? Was there such a lethal insect? He had never read it in an encyclopedia before.
And as if his brother recognized his cluelessness, the older Uchiha explained in a straightforward manner. ‘You’re in love with Sakura, Sasuke. You like her more than a friend would do.’ He said, enlightening Sasuke with his feelings.
Oh no, he loves Sakura… he likes her… and he did not know what to do.
Should he tell her that he likes her or should he forever hold his peace?
‘Confess to her, Sasuke. Tell her that you like her. Take a risk and be honest with her,’ Itachi advised, giving an answer to his question in mind.
‘What if she would not like me back? And what if our friendship would be destroyed?’ Sasuke countered. He was afraid that everything would change if he would bring up his feelings; the possibility of rejection and loss of friendship crept up into his head as fears.
‘It won’t, just trust me, my little brother.’ Itachi assured.
Sasuke raised a brow, doubting the words of his brother. He was not sure of his credibility. Afterall, what could a thirty-year-old, single man since birth, know about love? Moreover, the only woman close to him was only their mother — he was unreliable, in short.
Nevertheless, he would heed to his advice.
Thus, here he was, in the library, thinking on how to confess; with the assistance of some romantic novels he borrowed, he was pondering the best confession that would make his favorite pinkette speechless.
Should he straight up say ‘I like you’? Hmm… that would definitely shock the girl.
“Pssst… Sasuke-kun,” a sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. He knew exactly who was the owner of the voice, and the pink locks that he viewed from the corner his eyes, confirmed his intuition — it’s actually the source of his problem, Sakura.
But, talking to her was not important right now, he has a more pressing issue to be resolved which requires his full concentration. Hence, he ignored her.
Where was he again? Right, on how to say he likes Sakura. Should he tell her ‘Sakura, l could not live without you, let’s live together, forever’? Hmm… that’s too mushy; Sakura would most likely laugh at him.
“Pssst… Sasuke-kun,” Sakura called again yet, he ignored her again, too and went back in drowning himself with his thoughts.
‘Hmm…I am not a man of many words, maybe, it would be better if I would express it through my actions?’ Sasuke mused.
“Pssst… Sasuke-kun,” Sakura called for the third time yet, the said man dismissed her for the third time, too.
Now, a vein popped in Sasuke’s head, his line of thought was getting disrupted by Sakura and the said girl was being annoying at the moment.
“Pssst… Sasuke-kun,”
“Shut up, Sakura. Can’t you see that I’m busy thinking on how to tell you that I like you? Could you keep quiet?!” Sasuke exclaimed as he stood up from his seat, imaginarily a steam was coming out from his ears.
He surprised everyone with his outburst and all eyes set on him as if the time stood still.
On particular, Sakura’s emerald eyes widen; she did not expect that Sasuke would harbor the same feelings as her; She liked him the first time she saw him and kept it in her heart for many years, not planning to voice it out.
And now, he declared his love for her, she was lost on what to do next. Thus, she could only mechanically nod her head as answer to Sasuke.
Satisfied with her reply, Sasuke sat down. He’s pretty much happy that peace and quietness have finally returned. He could now peacefully think of a way to express his likeness to Sakura.
Suddenly, Sasuke looked at the young lady and a bright idea came up on him.
“Sakura, sit quietly beside me and help me think on how to say that I like you,” he commanded, not realizing that he already told her the three magical words he wanted to say.
***